What's on: May 2025!

Young Bristol are supporting World Mental Health Day, highlighting the importance of good mental health and the need to prioritise and invest in good mental health, on Friday 10th October.

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This year, the theme of World Mental Health Day is 'access to services - mental health in catastrophes and emergencies', which explores the importance of people being able to protect their mental health in times of global instability.

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At Young Bristol, we are committed to continuing our Mission by providing safe places, a supportive environment, and activities and opportunities in Bristol's communities, where young people can feel empowered, included and not alone.

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Our Youth Mental Health First Aider!

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A Youth Mental Health First Aider plays a key role in supporting and providing guidance to young people aged 8-18, who may be experiencing poor mental health. They are committed to recognising signs, offering initial assistance and connecting young people to professional help.

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Meet Jason, our Head of Youth Work. Jason is a trained Youth Mental Health First Aider! Jason is passionate about supporting young people through situations they face around their mental health, and wants to be someone that our young people can trust, talk to and take advice from.

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"One moment that made me feel like I made a difference was when I first engaged with someone who was having a panic attack, and helped them through a grounding method. When a young person is in a crisis moment, being there and knowing you've helped is a great feeling!"

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Mental Health is important to him as he believes looking after your mental state of mind is just as important as looking after your physical health. Jason understands that this is something that everyone can be affected by, and as a young person himself, knew someone close to him that suffered with their own mental health. He saw how much a small amount of support can transform someone's state of mind, which inspired him to learn more!

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One piece of advice Jason would give to anyone struggling with their mental health and well-being would be to reach out and talk to someone - from a friend or family member to a youth worker, teacher or mental health first aider. Let them know how you are feeling and what's going on.

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Providing safe places for Bristol's young people

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Our work provides young people with safe, welcoming, inclusive places where they can be themselves, build friendships, and access support when they need it most.

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Our Youth Clubs, programmes and services continue be at the core of communities, giving young people the safety and support that they cannot find on the streets, acting as the bridge between home and school life.  Since April 2024, we saw:

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• 21,392 attendances with young people ages 8-25.
• Our 8 Community Youth Clubs providing a safe place for 1,121 young people aged 8-19, continuing to open their doors up to 5 nights per week, 48 weeks of the year.  
• 11 rural and urban communities were positively impacted by our work, where there is currently no youth provision.
• More than 2,000 meals provided through our Community Youth Clubs, helping to address food poverty and holiday hunger.
• An investment of £528,280 into capital improvements at a number of our community venues since 2022; making improvements that would help to create environments that young people can thrive in.

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Where you can find support and advice

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Did you know one in five children face mental health issues? Whether you want to access helpful resources, start a conversation about mental health or are seeking professional advice and guidance, there are many ways you can begin to make a difference to a young person's mental health and wellbeing. If you or someone you know needs support, check out the links below for some recommended local and national services.

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Young people

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• Mind - A mental health charity, whose aim is to ensure no one faces mental health alone. Offering online support and guidance that young people that can access on their website 24/7.
• Shout - A free, confidential24/7 text support service for anyone in the UK who is struggling with their mental health. To start a conversation, text 'SHOUT' to 85258. Shout's team of trained volunteers are trained to listen at any time, day or night.
• Samaritans - Aims to provide support through phone, letter, email or in person. Whatever problem you are facing, Samaritans are available 24/7, 365 days a year!
• Kooth - an online wellbeing community where you can get free, safe and anonymous support. The forum is a judgement-free, safe place for anyone to get advice, help others and share their stories.

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Parents

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• Young Minds Parent Helpline - Offering tailored advice to parents, guardians and other family members who are concerned about a child's mental health. Advice for all young people who are under 25 over the phone or through their online chat.
• Shout - A free, confidential24/7 text support service for anyone in the UK who is struggling with their mental health. To start a conversation, text 'SHOUT' to 85258. Shout's team of trained volunteers are trained to listen at any time, day or night.‍
• Samaritans - Aims to provide support through phone, letter, email or in person. Whatever problem you are facing, Samaritans are available 24/7, 365 days a year!‍
• MindEd for Families - A free e-learning portal, offering information and support about mental health and well-being. Available 24/7 on their website!

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To find out more about our work with young people and the opportunities we provide click here.

Are you looking to take part in exciting activities this month? Young Bristol have a range of activities, events and opportunities for young people and the wider community! Find out below what's on in your local area this month!

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Outdoor Activities

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Our Outdoor Activity Programme will be running half day and full day Holiday Clubs during the October Half Term! Take part in our offer of up to 16 water and land based activities. Click here to secure your place!

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When: Wednesday 29th October-Thursday 30th October

Where: Pooles Wharf Outdoor Activity Centre

For: Ages 8-16

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‍Wellbeing and Social Action Festival

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The Wellbeing and Social Action Festival will see a variety of workshops, stalls and activities, including: Talk, Back and Sides; haircuts for young people, Yoga, make your own wellbeing packs and stress balls, wellbeing through music with ‘The Cause’ and stalls from local organisations. Supported by SNG.

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When: Thursday 30th October

Where: Admiral House, Manor Road, BS16 2EN

For: Ages 10-20

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Wonderland performance - performed by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

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When Alice tumbles down a rabbit hole during a computer lesson, Alice discovers a magical Wonderland filled with curious characters who seem strangely familiar. Through encounters with a White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, and the fearsome Queen of Hearts, she embarks on a musical adventure that teaches her how to navigate her emotions and embrace her true self. Booking required - link will be live soon.

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When: Friday 31st October, from 11:00am

Where: Merchants Academy, Gatehouse Avenue, BS13 9AJ

For: all the family, Key stage 1 & 2 students

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‍Also this month...

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Community Youth Clubs - For 8 – 19 year olds and are located in many areas across Bristol, open up to 4 nights per week. Each Club offers a safe and inclusive environment, staffed by caring, trained adults. Click here to find out more.

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Outdoor Employment Programme - Our free programme for young people aged 16-25 helps to develop new skills and gain nationally recognised qualifications in a variety of outdoor activities. Click here to find out more.

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Youth Club on Wheels - Our mobile youth service works with young people aged 8-19 in hard-to-reach areas of the city and rural areas where there is currently no youth provision. Click here to find out more.

Last week, we were delighted to welcome the team from Computershare to BS14 Youth Club, where four of their dedicated team members helped us to improve our facilities for young people.

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During their voluntary day, the team from Computershare helped us with a number of outdoor tasks, where they spent the day in the clubs garden, car park and around the clubs other external facilities. The team helped us with weeding, cleaning, cutting back brambles and sweeping around the club.

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Thank you to everyone at Computershare for helping us to create a safe, positive place where our young people can thrive! We appreciate your ongoing support!

This month, we were pleased to take nine young people from Young Bristol's Outdoor Employment Programme to RSPB's Cameron's Cottage in the New Forest!

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Cameron’s Cottage was created as a legacy to Cameron Bespolka who died in 2013, aged sixteen. Cameron had a deep passion for nature, which began as a young child and developed further as he got older. The groups residential week was designed for the group to engage with the natural world in a number of exciting and unique ways, including outdoor cooking, survival skills, shelter building and learning conservation skills.

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"I learnt so much and gained a lot of new skills. This week have been amazing and a great experience that I'll remember forever!"

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Tuesday

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Once the group settled and unpacked in the cottage, their first activity of the week was setting up camera traps. The RSPB team taught our Outdoor Employment Trainees why they use camera traps, and how to set them up. Trainees then explored the reserve, searching for signs of animal activity such as footprints, droppings or disturbed wildlife. This allowed them to figure the best places to set up their camera traps, which they reviewed later in the week.

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Their first evening was finished with a barbecue, with the whole group sitting round the fire, making new friendships and playing card games!

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Wednesday

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The trainees first day in the cottage began with a conservation workshop, where young people explored the idea that dogs ahve an imapct on New Forest's environment. They did this by looking at the potential positve and negative imapcts that they have, and then mind-mapped ways that this could potentially be resolved.

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After lunch, the group ventured out onto an extended walk, where they explored the reserved, learnt about the types of plants and fungi that grew in the local environment and enjoyed a session of pond dipping at the lake.

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During the evening, participants got together to discuss a workshop that they are currently working on, which is planned to be delivered across our Community Youth Club network over the next couple of months!

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Thursday

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The groups second full day at the cottage was all about survival and bushcraft skills. Young people started the day by learning the basics of bushcraft, where they learnt how to light fires, use kelly kettles to boil water, and carve wooden pegs that would later be used in shelter building.

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The group then spent their afternoon building their own shelters, where they used all the skills that they had learnt during the mornings session to build a shelter that would hopefully protect them from the rain!

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The day wrapped up with an evening adventure outside the cottage, where the group searched for bats and enjoyed star-gazing around the reserve.

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Friday

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During the final day, trainees took on a final task of clearing rhododendrons, an invasive species that causes a reduction in the forests natural biodiversity. Our group spent the morning learning how to safely use loppers and gardening knives as well as collecting wood that could later be used for fires and carving activities by future visitors. This voluntary session was a way for our group to give back and say thanks to RSPB and Cameron's Cottage for for hosting and funding an amazing residential.

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We would like to thank RSPB and the Cameron Bespolka Trust for hosting an incredible week away for our Outdoor Employment Programme. Well done to all the trainees that took part, it was amazing to see their passion and curiosity for conservation be highlighted throughout the week.

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To find out more about how you can get involved with our Outdoor Employment Programme, click here.

Last week, we were delighted to welcome the team from Computershare to The Grove @ Bedminster Down, where 7 of their dedicated team members helped us to improve our facilities for young people!

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During their voluntary day, the team from Computershare joined us outside in the sunshine to get stuck in with some outdoors tasks! The volunteers spent the day in the clubs garden helping us with outdoor maintenance, which included cutting the grass, weeding, cutting back brambles and sweeping around the club.

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Thank you to everyone at Computershare for helping us to create a safe, positive place where our young people can thrive! We appreciate your ongoing support!

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There are many ways you can work with Young Bristol and support what we do. As a charity, we are committed to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with corporate organisations in Bristol and surrounding areas. Find out how you can support us today! Click here for more information.

On Saturday 13th September, Young Bristol were pleased to attend Tockington Manor Schools 'Russell Run', raising money for the young people we support across Bristol!

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Tockington Manor Schools 'Russell Run' is a 5km fun run, jog or walk that was open to all members of the family around the schools 28 acres of land. The event was named after a beloved former teacher.

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The Russell Run celebrated the start of the school year, inviting the schools students, families, staff, alumni and dogs to come together in fancy dress and take part in the event. It was great to see a day full of excitement, laughter and fun.

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Tockington Manor School have kindly chosen Young Bristol as their 'Charity of the Year' for the 2025-26 school year. As part of this partnership, they also plan to host a Christmas Fair, Christmas Jumper Day, Carol Service, a school triathlon day, a Disney Day and a number of non-uniform days.

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Thank you to everyone at Tockington Manor School that has helped to make the first fundraising event of the year a success. We look forward to working with you throughout the school year!

On Sunday 14th September, we were pleased to see Walter Thompson sign up to the Bristol Half Ironman Triathlon to raise money for Young Bristol!

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The Ironman 70.3 is a 70.3 mile triathlon that consists of participants swimming 1.2 miles swim, cycling 56 miles and running a half marathon to finish.

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"The triathlon went well despite the awful weather! I'm very happy with the achievement and quite relieved it's over - especially the run was very tough indeed."

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It has been amazing to see Walter prepare for the triathlon by running a number of half marathons whilst wearing a Young Bristol running vest, to raise extra awareness for our work! Thank you Walter for taking part in the Bristol Half Ironman Triathlon in aid of Young Bristol this month! Support his fundraising page here.

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If you are interested in taking part in a third party fundraising event for Young Bristol, click here and learn how you can help fundraise for us!

Last week, we were delighted to welcome the team from Places For People to Avon Youth Club, where 8 of their dedicated team members helped us to improve our facilities for young people!

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During their voluntary day, the team from Places For People joined us outside in the sunshine to get stuck in with some outdoors tasks! The volunteers spent the day in the clubs garden trimming back hedges and clearing weeds. The team also helped us to make the space more tidy by litter picking around the area.

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Thank you to everyone at Places For People for helping us to create a safe, positive place where our young people can thrive! We appreciate your support!

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There are many ways you can work with Young Bristol and support what we do. As a charity, we are committed to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with corporate organisations in Bristol and surrounding areas. Find out how you can support us today! Click here for more information.

This summer, Young Bristol saw 6 weeks of Holiday Clubs delivered across 6 of our community venues and outdoor activity centre, working with new and existing young people, providing them with exciting and enriching new opportunities, access to healthy food and the opportunity to build new friendships.

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Young Bristol’s Holiday Clubs are located in numerous areas across Bristol. During the school holidays our Community Youth Clubs and Outdoor Activities Team ran engaging sessions during both the day time and evenings. These session provided young people with free activities, prepared meals and a safe space to have fun! Our programmes had a focus on supporting those who receive free school meals.

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"A massive thank you to the club, my children had an amazing time! You truly give back with generosity and heart."

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This summer Young Bristol saw:

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• 2,732 contacts with young people
• 504 inidviduals supported
• 11 communities supported across Bristol with our Community Youth Club and Youth Club on Wheels.

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A breakdown of where these contacts have come from:

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• 1,414 contacts with Young Bristol's Open Access sessions and Holiday Club's
• 682 contacts from our outdoor activitie centre
• 496 contacts from external providers hiring our space
• 50 contacts with young people on our Youth Club on Wheels
• 90 contacts through Interclub events

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Young Bristol would like to thank our staff team, partner organisations and funders for helping to make this summer one to remember. We would also like to thank the Your Holiday Hub Bristol Programme, supported by Bristol City Council and The Department for Education, for supporting 5 of our Holiday Clubs at our city-wide Community Youth Club venues.